Lawson says the G7 needs to cancel Global South debts, end hunger and pay up for climate damage.

Lawson spoke out after the G7 met in Hiroshima last week.

"They failed to cancel debts and they failed to find what is really required to end the huge increase in hunger worldwide.

"They can find untold billions to fight the war but can't even provide half of what is needed by the UN for the most critical humanitarian crises."

If the G7 really want backing for the war in Ukraine, they have to go about it differently, Lawson said.

He noted Global South countries are being crippled by a food and debt crisis of huge proportions.

"Countries are paying over US$200 million a day to the G7 and their bankers, money they could spend feeding their people instead."

Pope Francis is likewise concerned.

Last week he asked the G7 to seek "responsible multilateral cooperation."

He asked for an integral global security "capable of embracing issues including access to food and water, respect for the environment, health care, energy sources and the equitable distribution of the world's goods."

Some statistics

Over half of all debt payments from the Global South are going to the G7 or to private banks based in G7 countries.

Over US$230 million dollars a day is flowing into the G7.

Countries are bankrupt, spending far more on debt than on health or food for their people.

Debt payments have increased sharply as Global South countries borrow in dollars; rising interest rates supersede their debt repayments.

Climate Change

Another G7 failure is that its policies damage the world's weather systems.

It owes the Global South US$8.7 trillion for the losses and damages its carbon emissions cause, Lawson said.

While the G7 Hiroshima communique said they recognised the new Loss and Damage fund, they failed to commit a cent to it.

"It is good they continue to recognise the need to meet 1.5 degrees and stay committed to this despite the energy crisis driven by the war in Ukraine, but they try to blame everyone else.

"They must stop using fossil fuels immediately - the planet is on fire."

Source

• Oxfam
• Catholic Culture

They can be seen praying for peace, defending their nation, staying behind to care for loved ones, mourning loss and death, and fleeing to bring their children to safety all symbolise hope for Ukraine, says Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk.

In his opinion, the women symbolise "fearlessness, a symbol of victory of life over death, a symbol of the fact that Ukraine will stand even through such inhumane circumstances.

"When we speak of our homeland, our Ukraine, which is standing, which is fighting, I see before my eyes the image of a woman. A woman as a symbol of Ukraine."

Images of the many faces of women in the Ukraine war show them building and defending the future, protecting, feeding and caring for their loved ones, Shevchuk says.

"When we care for our people who are hiding in bomb shelters, we see first of all women. The woman is today the symbol of the strength and courage of Ukraine."

Female strength gives Ukraine hope, he believes.

Shevchuk also says he is grateful and praying for the women in the military, defending their homeland.

"Who can fully comprehend the pain of a woman, a mother, who mourns the death of her son killed in war? Or a woman who has lost her husband, brother or sister? But most of all we are amazed by women who stand in prayer before God," praying for their city and their country, he said.

At present Shevchuk is preparing for Pope Francis's consecration of Ukraine and Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

The consecration will take place during a penitential prayer service in St Peter's Basilica this Friday.

Ukrainian Catholics continue to pray to the Mother of God, and "we would like to dedicate women and the women of Ukraine" to her protection, Shevchuk says.

Source

• Detroiut Catholic
• Image: WHYY

The UN refugee agency says by March 14, almost 1.8 million people had entered Poland from Ukraine since the full-scale Russian invasion on February 24.

The Council of Major Superiors of Congregations of Women Religious (the Major Superiors) in Poland says as at March 14, sisters in 924 Polish Catholic convents and 98 in Ukraine were offering "spiritual, psychological, medical, and material help."

All of the nearly 150 religious congregations operating in Poland and Ukraine have responded.

Some are helping a few people, while others have offered assistance to as many as 18,000.

The sisters' work includes almost everything - from transporting people from areas affected by war to providing mother and baby classes.

One of their bigger tasks involves organising housing for the refugees.

To date, the Major Superiors say 498 convents in Poland and 76 in Ukraine have organised housing. About 3,060 children, 2,420 families and 2,950 adults have received shelter so far. In addition, 64 Catholic institutions offer 600 places for orphans.

Besides these, there are 420 institutions with places for around 3,000 mothers with children.

Elderly and disabled people are also among those who have found shelter in institutions run by sisters.

The Major Superiors say the religious sisters have also been helping prepare and distribute hot meals, food, sanitary products, clothing and blankets.

They have also been helping the newcomers find work in Poland, creating additional jobs in their centres, coordinating assistance to refugees at aid headquarters, helping Ukrainian children enrol in Polish schools and serving as Ukrainian language translators.

Other assistance religious communities are providing includes constantly collecting food and hygiene products to be sent to Ukraine, given directly to refugees in Poland or to houses run by congregations.

The congregations also make financial donations and transmit funds through their foundations.

Poland, a country of 38 million people that borders both Russia and Ukraine, was already home to an estimated two million Ukrainian workers before the war began.

Source

• CNA
• Image: Vatican News